March 5, 2014 6:48pm ESTMarch 5, 2014 8:10am ESTAs the NHL trade deadline passes, Martin St. Louis is the biggest name on the move. He's headed to the Rangers. Recap all the news, analysis and rumors after hockey's intense day of dealing.Ryan Kesler(AP Photo)

The NHL trade deadline is at 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday. It should be a long, interesting day, assuming general managers didn't overdo it on Tuesday. Sporting News will be here all afternoon with quick-hit analysis of deals and rumors has they happen.

Primer: Ryan Kesler, Thomas Vanek and Matt Moulson are the biggest names on the block, and there remains at least a possibility that Ryan Callahan and Martin St. Louis move, as well.

4:41 p.m.: Here's how bad the Isles screwed up in trading Thomas Vanek to the Canadiens: John Spano, the guy who nearly lied his way into owning the team, is making fun of them for it. Not a good day for Garth Snow.

3:36 p.m.: The Sabres have traded Jaroslav Halak to the Washington Capitals, according to multiple reports. Washington pairs a slightly above average goaltender with Braden Holtby.

What's amazing about this, though: While with the Montreal Canadiens in 2010, Halak near-singlehandedly beat the heavily favored Caps in the first round. After that, they essentially changed their organization strategy and haven't quite come back from it. And he's not a defenseman, which Washington needed. Oh, irony.

Washington sends backup Michal Neuvirth back to Buffalo. He's still young with a track record of success, and he's more useful to Buffalo than Halak, who was acquired for rental purposes as part of the Ryan Miller trade.

3:19 p.m.: Thomas Vanek is a Montreal Canadien, according to Newsday. The New York Islanders managed to deal the pending unrestricted free agent, one of the best wingers on the block, before the deadline. Montreal is one of the top teams in a weak Eastern Conference, and he makes them much, much better; Max Pacioretty is their only true goal-scorer.

The return: a second-round pick and a prospect. Not ideal, given that Vanek cost the Isles Matt Moulson and a first-round pick. Garth Snow lost.

3:16 p.m.: The Detroit Red Wings desperately need a center and added David Legwand, according to multiple reports. Legwand is a third-line guy from the Nashville Predators.

Center Paul Stastny is still a Colorado Av, which means a new contract is at least possible. Goalie Reto Berra, formerly with the Flames, is an Av, according to the Denver Post.

3:11 p.m.: The Sabres have sent Matt Moulson and Cody McCormick to the Wild for undisclosed draft picks and Torrey Michell, according to the Buffalo News.

The New York Islanders have traded Thomas Vanek, according to Newsday.

Mike Cammalleri will stay a Calgary Flame, per TSN.

3:07 p.m: Ryan Kesler was not traded, according to Elliotte Friedman, and neither was Martin Brodeur. No word on Moulson, though the Buffalo News says the Sabres aren't done. No word on Thomas Vanek.

Two late defenseman moves: Andrej Meszaros from Philadelphia to the Boston Bruins for a third-round pick, and Raphael Diaz from Montreal to the Vancouver Canucks for a fifth-round picks.

3:00 p.m.: If Kesler, Vanek, Moulson and others have been traded, the email must have been sent to the league.

2:04 p.m.: The Carolina Hurricanes moved Tuomo Ruutu's contract to the New Jersey Devils. In return, they got Andrei Loktionov and a conditional third-round pick in 2017 — that's a good deal for Canes GM Jim Rutherford.

Ruutu, 31, makes $4.75 million for the two seasons after this. Injuries have killed his point production; he's got five goals and 11 assists. He's an expensive bottom-six option for a Devils team that, apparently, is trying to put themselves in playoff postion. Martin Brodeur is unmoved.

Loktionov has just 12 points this season, but at 23, he still has potential. Given that Rutherford had Ruutu on the block for years, it's a fine return.

He's also a third-line center. Pittsburgh already has one of those in Brandon Sutter — but Sutter has been linked to the Canucks in the Ryan Kesler package. This is speculative, but Rob Rossi reported that Pittsburgh viewed Kesler as a potential right winger in the short term. Goc would open that up. A thought.

1:18 p.m.: The first of the big wingers has moved. Marian Gaborik has been traded to the Los Angeles Kings, per Pierre LeBrun.

The Columbus Blue Jackets get winger Matt Frattin and conditional second- and third-round picks back from LA.

The Kings are one of the worst goal-scoring teams in the league despite their puck-possession skills, so adding Gaborik, who's still a 20/30-goal guy if healthy, makes sense. He's been hurt for much of the season, though. Columbus is taking on some of his $7.5 million salary, per Bob McKenzie on TSN.

It means the asking price is likely high for Moulson and Vanek.

Around the same time, Ren Lavoie reported that the Philadelphia Flyers are out on Ryan Kesler. That could mean something good for the Pittsburgh Penguins, or it could mean the Canucks are leaning toward keeping him. We'll see.

12:54 p.m.: The Pittsburgh Penguins are not interested in Thomas Vanek, according to Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He's one of the big four wingers on the market.

Earlier in the day, Pierre LeBrun reported that the Kings weren't interested him. The Montreal Canadiens may be, per Chris Botta. Vanek has also been linked to the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks. The cost for him should be a first-round pick and a player, potentially more depending on what happens with Moulson, Cammalleri and Kesler.

Traded by the Sabres to the Islanders earlier this season, Vanek will become a UFA in the summer.

12:48 p.m.: Devan Dubnyk is a Montreal Canadien. He'd previously played for the Nashville Predators after a trade from the Edmonton Oilers.

Dubnyk was fine in Edmonton until this season, but he's nothing more than an insurance policy for Carey Price, who's dealing with an injury, and Peter Budaj.

Hemsky, 30, has been on the trade block for years. He's a skilled, play-driving winger who doesn't get enough credit for playing through a tough situation and is still capable of 40-50 points. Ottawa apparently outbid the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were looking to play Hemsky on a line with Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz.

Hemsky, regardless, is a second-tier winger compared to Matt Moulson, Thomas Vanek and Mike Cammalleri, and he moves first. He'll help the Sens. Plus, Edmonton is retaining half of Hemsky's salary.

10:28 a.m.: Luongo spoke to TSN. He's excited to start fresh with the Florida Panthers. Here's some of what he said.

"It's been a strange few days for sure ... I still feel like it's not real, to be honest with you."

"I'm not exactly sure how the whole thing went down."

"Just leaving in the middle of the season when you're trying to accomplish something as a group is tougher than I thought it'd be. I have a lot of friends in Vancouver and built a lot of relationships there, so it's tough."

"Things change all the time, and I don't want to overthink things, but the tough part is probably going to be finishing this season out knowing that I won't be in the playoffs. Other than that, I think things worked out well."

9:35 a.m.: Jay Feaster, fired earlier this season as Calgary Flames GM, is working for TSN on deadline day. He had some interesting things to say about last season's Jarome Iginla saga; Feaster had worked out a deal sending Iginla to the Boston Bruins, but he wouldn't waive his no-trade clause and wound up a Pittsburgh Penguin.

Feaster said he went to Iginla's agent Don Meehan and said they had a deal done with Boston. Meehan's response: "You may have a deal, but we don't have a deal." The end result: Calgary took two questionable prospects and a first-round pick from Pittsburgh, and Feaster took a lot of heat. It certainly wasn't the reason he lost his job, but it didn't help.

Regarding that, Feaster was even-handed, saying that Flames president Brian Burke had the right to bring in his own people once he took over the team.

9:16 a.m.: The Ryan Kesler situation may be changing, per Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Pittsburgh has offered center Brandon Sutter, either defensemen Simon Despres or Brian Dumoulin and a first-round pick. Defenseman Derrick Pouliot, a better prospect, is in play, with an asterisk.

The Penguins are open to sweetening their offer, but if top prospect Derrick Pouliot were part of it the package would change in terms of draft picks. (Pouliot, whom the Penguins want to keep, was part of original talks between GM Ray Shero and his Vancouver counterpart, Mike Gillis, in mid-January.)

More importantly, Rossi reports that Canucks GM Mike Gillis, under tremendous heat after the Luongo mess, may not be authorized to move Kesler. That doesn't speak well for Gillis' job security — but the Penguins also have a vested interest in keeping the price low. Check Rossi's report for more.

9:08 a.m.: Pierre LeBrun, speaking on TSN, said he expected Ottawa GM Bryan Murray to call his nephew, Tim, in Buffalo about Chris Stewart. The Sabres added Stewart as part of the Ryan Miller package. He's not consistent, but he does have 15 goals and another year on his contract with a $3.15 million hit.

Callahan, having reduced his original ask of seven years at more than $48 million, was still at six years and approximately $39 million while the Rangers, having previously upped their bid from five years at $30 million, were adamant about not increasing the six-year, $36 million offer recently put on the table to their captain.

While the difference has been narrowed to approximately $500,000 per for six years and leaves open the “split the difference” scenario, both sides believe they have compromised significantly enough not to yield further.

8 a.m.: And the morning kicks off with some Martin Brodeur stuff. Here are three compiled tweets from ESPN's Pierre LeBrun : "Just chatted with Martin Brodeur. He's ok with whatever Lou Lamoriello decides today. But ready for a new challenge if that comes. Brodeur wants to play next season. A new challenge elsewhere with a chance to play more will help gauge him in that decision. Obviously joining a contender would be optimum for him. However again, no issue if he stays put in NJ. Up to Lamoriello."

So Brodeur hopes he and his .899 save percentage winds up somewhere he can play, preferably a contender. Makes perfect sense; there are lots of playoff-bound teams out there looking for one of the league's worst statistical goalies five weeks before the playoffs. Beyond that, saying he wants to play next year makes things tougher on the Devils, because Cory Schneider is much, much better and should start 80 percent of the time.

This whole situation, really, is passive-aggressive and uncomfortable. Let's just forget about it and hope it goes away.